Foster Family
by Tsuna 4 Cn4s
Summary: Meet Iemitsu and Nana Vongola, their son Tsuna, and the rest of the Reborn gang as the couple adopt some and welcome all into their family- the Vongola family. Non mafia fanfiction.
1. Tsunayoshi Vongola

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I got the idea for this fanfiction while watching _Everybody Loves Raymond_; what if the Vongola were just a normal, everyday kind of family? Sounds like Tsuna would approve, yeah?**

**Edited: 1/21/13**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

•~•~•~•~•

Chapter one: Tsunayoshi Vongola

The soft cry of a newborn baby played across the spacious hospital room. The nurse who held him smiled widely at the new mother and said to her, "It's a boy, ma'am. Congratulations!" And placed him gently in the anxiously awaiting arms.

The young woman of twenty-five looked down on her newborn son with the largest, happiest smile the world has ever know. She loved the little boy. At first glance, she was deep in love with him.

Everything about him seemed perfect. His short brown hair, so like his mother's. His large, baby blue eyes. His soft, pink, newborn skin. The way he cried quietly and then yawned, letting his eyes flutter open and close. He was beautiful.

The newborn's father stood at his young wife's side, crying loudly into a handkerchief. He would blow his nose, dab at his wet eyes, and mutter in a broken voice, "Nana, he's so... PERFECT!" And the crying would again resume.

After several of these repetitive, unmanly actions, Nana finally remind her husband, "Iemitsu, we have to name him."

"What? Oh yeah. Hmmmmmmmmm..." Twenty-eight year old Iemitsu took on an uncharacteristic look of hard thinking. "How about... Milfred?"

"Who would name their child Milfred?!"

"It was my godfather's name, as well as my middle name."

"O-oh. Well dear, he just doesn't look like a... um...'Milfred' to me."

"Yeah, now I see it... or don't see it actually. Maybe..."

"Tsuna?"

"Yoshi!" Iemitsu and Nana shouted at the same time. They gave each other funny looks.

"Yoshi? Iemitsu, that's not a proper name for a young boy!"

"Well, you wanna name our son something that sounds like tuna!"

"It does not! Tsuna's a very fine name." Iemitsu made a sulky face. "Then how about we... combine the names!"

Iemitsu said the smartest thing he could think of. "...huh?"

"There are plenty of children with combined names! Like "Tsuyoshi"? When has a day gone bye when you haven't heard the everyday name "Tsuyoshi"?"

"Today, yesterday, the day before-"

"Never! Exactly! So, why name our only son such a usual name? It's settled then! Nurse! Please bring us the birth certificate. We've decided on a name."

The nurse brought in a piece of paper for the parents to write out the name they wanted for their baby, so it later could be copyed down on the official certificate. Nana gave their son to Iemitsu and wrote in large, fancy letters,

_"Tsunayoshi Vongola"._

•~•~•~•~•

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :)**


	2. Lonely

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter!**

**-hellokitty0807**

**-Helloimlxs**

**-Guest**

**-Lexie-chan94**

**-mangafreakfoeva**

**And thank you to everyone who has alerted and favorited myself and this fanfiction!**

**Edited: 1/21/13**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

•~•~•~•~•~•

Chapter two: Lonely

Nana tried to concentrate on the batch of chocolate chip cookies she was making, but her eyes kept wandering away to the little four year old boy sitting by her feet, playing with a few toys in a large bowl of water. The boy looked very, very bored. He didn't splash or make a huge mess like most children would do with a tub of water, but simply pushed one of his toy boats in a circle around the edges of the bowl, over and over again, with his head leaning on one of his hands.

Nana bit her lip. Her son, Tsunayoshi, had been acting lethargic and upset ever since her husband had left last week for work (Iemitsu worked for an oil company that owned several camps around the world).

She wished she had more time to play with Tsuna and keep him company, but she had her housework that needed to be done. She gave him whatever free time she had and he always seemed happier after they played together for a little while, but Nana couldn't spend all day playing with trains and cars. In the end, she would have some chore that neeeded doing and Tsuna would again be all alone.

Nana sighed, wishing her little boy had some other children his age to play with. There weren't any small children around for Tsuna to be friends with. He was too young for school, and besides, she wasn't going to send her son there to make friends. He wasn't the strongest or smartest little boy (though Nana thought he was), so a club or sports were out of the question. Plus, he was probably too young for those activities as well.

'What can I do with him?' Nana wondered to herself. 'The most fun he has that involves other people is when I bring him to the park and he chases the birds! He's just too shy to make friends. Maybe I should think about daycare...? No! I'm not sending my son out of the house for the day just to be with some other children. Maybe I'm just over thinking this. Maybe Tsuna is just sad his father is away. After all, this is only about the fifth time he's left Japan since Tsu-kun's birth. Maybe Tsuna just needs time to find things to do on his own. Or, maybe I'm not worried enough? I mean, Tsuna does need some other boys and girls his age to jump and run and have a good time with, Right?'

"Mama?" A tiny voice asked.

"Y-yes?" Nana said, startled out of her thoughts.

"Can I help Mama make the cookies?"

Nana smiled down at her son. "Of course, Tsu-kun!"

The little boy cheered and ran to get a stool. Nana laughed after him. 'Yes, he just needs some time to adjust to playing by himself. Maybe one day, he'll have friends to play with.'

•••

"You little brat!" An ugly man hit the small, Italian boy with his fist. "How dare you pull Chuchu's hair!"

The small four year old stood up, leaning heavily against the wall. He was clearly underfed, his ribs showing plainly through the rags that were his clothes. "L-listening old man," The boy's voice was hoarse, his breathing labored. "I d-didn't pull his hair. He's lyin-" Another kick to the stomach stopped the boy's words.

"Enough with your lies, rat!" The man screamed. "My Chuchu doesn't lie! You should worship him for being so unselfish as to agree to host two, ungrateful orphans as yourselves."

"I'm... not an... orphan."

"Shut up!" Another slap. "Clean up this room! I want it spotless! Come, Chuchu! I'll take you for some ice cream." The man led a tear stained boy out of the disgusting basement that was the home of the two orphaned boys. The man's son turned his head to give the dirty boys an ugly, triumphant sneer.

As soon as the door to the basement closed, a tall, thin four year old ran over to his friend. "Oh Hayato! Why did you call Chuchu-san fat?!"

"Because... he... is." Hayato said between gasps of breath.

"But, you're already so hurt! What if..." The other boy began to cry. "What if they sent us back to the orphanage? Or...or what if he hit you again and you... you...d-died? I would be all alone. I wouldn't have my best friend to promise me that one day we'll be rich and we'll throw Chuchu in a smelly old jail and make his father our clown and and-"

Hayato spoke to him more gently. "Shh, Takeshi. I won't die. I promise. I won't leave you alone to be a slave to that old man. Okay?"

Takeshi nodded. Hayato continued, "I'll find us a way out of here. I promise."

•~•~•~•~•

**Ending Note: I got the name "Chuchu" from the pokèmon manga. It's basically pronounced "chew-chew"! ^_^**

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :)**


	3. And So They MeetPart 1

**Author's Note: In my original first seven chapters of Foster Family, I spelled Takeshi's name as "Takashi". Thankfully, though, CH0C0CANDYZ has corrected me. Thank you again!**

**Edited: 1/21/13**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

•~•~•~•~•

Chapter three: And So They Meet~Part 1

"Come on, Tsu-kun!" Nana called up the stairs. "Your father and I are already to go!"

"Sorry, Mama! But I needed to count my money again!" Tsuna called back, skipping slightly as he ran down the stairs. He grinned widely at his mother and held up a small blue bag.

Iemitsu had come home two days before, bringing good news and gifts for his family. The oil company in Canada was going very well, and to celebrate his boss had given all the workers a raise. Iemitsu had splurged and bought Nana an expensive, beautiful, silk scarf. He had originally thought to buy Tsuna a new train or something, but instead had decided to give his little four year five dollars in nickels, dimes and quarters(which, to Tsuna, was better than any new locomotive).

Tsuna had counted his money a hundred times since his father first gave it to him. Now, his parents had planned on taking him to the market to find something nice to spend it on.

The small family left their house and walked to the market place, chatting happily and laughing at Tsuna's antics.

"Do you think I have enough for a real train? One I can ride on?

"What about a boat? Can I buy a boat?

"A race car?

"A dog?

"A kitty?

"How 'bout a shovel?"

"For the beach?" Nana asked her son.

"No! A shovel so I could go with Daddy to work! He always takes his shovel with him!"

The rest of the way to the market, Iemitsu beamed while Nana laughed at the thought of the little boy dressed like his muscular father and covered in dirt and grime.

•••

"Oh boy!" Tsuna exclaimed as he caught sight of the large flea market set up in Namimori's park. It was a grand sight. Between the seemingly endless rows of stalls, the shouting of the shop's vendors, and the bustling of the shoppers, the little four year old could barely stand the excitement.

"Now Tsu-kun," Nana told her son quietly. "You must be sure to hold my hand nice and tight so we don't lose you, alright?"

Tsuna nodded to show he promised. Nana smiled and, taking her husband's arm, the three stared off through the market, on their way to the toy stall.

•••

As they were on their way, someone bumped into Tsuna, causing him to fall and drop his mother's hand.

"H-hey!" Tsuna cried.

"Watch where you're going, kid!" A silver haired boy around Tsuna's age hissed at him. He then turned and ran in the direction Tsuna had come from.

The small brunette glared after the other boy. He picked himself up and brushed himself off, all the while muttering things he had heard (or at least thought he had heard) his mother say.

"Honesty! Can't parents keep their children under control? What a ill behaviored little boy!"

Tsuna paused for a moment, realizing his rant didn't quite sound as good as when his mother had said it. While he stood and pondered why that was, he was suddenly interrupted by a very loud, very angry voice running towards him. "Hey! There's one of the small brats who stole from my shop! Get that little punk!"

A large man and a teenager ran at Tsuna, who stood frozen with confusion and fright by the strangers. Before he knew why, he took off, running the way he had come with his parents.

Tsuna dodged around people, stalls, carts and crates, trying desperately to lose the scary men that were chasing him. As he ran, he tried not to think about how each step took him further and further away from his mother's safe, protecting embrace.

Just as his little four year old legs were about to collapse under him, a hand shot out and wrapped around Tsuna's wrist. Suddenly, there were two pairs of arms dragging the young child into a dark, cramped alley.

Tsuna tried to scream, but a rough, small hand covered his mouth. "Idiot, do you want them to find us?"

Tsuna wanted to reply, but the hand didn't move from his mouth. Minutes passed in the alley in complete silence, as the small boy tried desperately to fight back tears. The only sound was a faint din coming from the moving sea of shoppers.

After what seemed like eternity to Tsuna, the hand moved away from his mouth and a little boy with a foreign accent whispered, "Looks like we lost 'em, Takeshi."

A small laugh sounded next to Tsuna. "Haha, that's a relief." The voice then hardened and became deadly serious. "You shouldn't have stolen from that doughnut guy, Hayato. Stealing's wrong."

There was a sound of shuffling feet. "B-but... we were hungry! If I didn't take a few, how would we have eaten?"

"All the same. We shouldn't have done it."

"Tch, that's the problem with you, Takeshi! You're too nice. Anyway, what are we gonna do with this kid?" The boy said "kid" like most people would say "garbage" or "useless junk".

"He did get chased 'cause of us. We should atleast apologize and introduce us." The friendlier boy suggested.

"Ugh, why do I ask you?"

Tsuna felt a gentle push from behind him and a little boy's voice kindly telling him to walk. He stood up and, guided by the light push, stumbled out of the alleyway. Tsuna blinked in the sudden, bright sunshine. He then turned to see the two boys who had rescued him from the scary men.

The boy who had left the alley in front of Tsuna was also the boy who had covered Tsuna's mouth. He was around the brunette's height, but terribly thin and underfed. His short, silver hair- looking as if it had never been combed in the boy's short life- had mud and dirt stuck to it. His pale face was set in a seemingly permanent scowl. His emerald green eyes glared at Tsuna.

The other boy was much more friendly looking. He was taller than both boys and just as thin as his friend. His hair was black and very short and looked even dirtier than the green eyed child's. His skin was not quite so pale, and instead of a scowl he had a large, happy smile plastered on his face. His brown eyes, though, were dull and sad looking.

The taller boy spoke first. "Hello there! My name's Takeshi and this is my friend, Hayato." He pointed to the pouting silverhead.

"M-my name's Tsunayoshi Vongola and I lost my mom when I was walking with her 'cause she said I should hold her hand but then I got bumped and dropped it on accident." Tsuna hiccuped.

Takeshi laughed kindly. "Well Tsunayoshi, are you hungry?"

"S-sure!"

"Then why don't you come and eat some doughnuts with us?"

"What?!" Hayato screamed. "But... that's our food!"

Takeshi frowned at him. "It isn't really and you know that. Plus, it's our fault this boy got lost. The least we can do is fed him."

"But we have to leave this market NOW!" Hayato pleaded. "As soon as they find us gone..."

Takeshi hesitated a little at this reminder. "No... no, we eat, then we go." He decided firmly.

Hayato threw his arms up in the air and started mumbling some curse words. Tsuna gasped. "Those are bad words, Hayato-san! My mommy yells when my daddy says them."

"Yeah? Well, my daddy couldn't care less what the heck I say."

Takeshi sighed at Hayato. He then took from a small brown bag that he wore over his shoulder, five, hot, fresh doughnuts. He handed one to each of the hungry boys, before quickly devouring one himself. He put the two extra snacks back in his bag.

"Well, Tsunayoshi, how'd you like 'em?" Takeshi questioned.

"They were great!" Tsuna grinned at his new friend.

"They were small." Hayato grumbled. "I'm still hungry. I didn't get dinner last night."

"Oh yeah," Takeshi remembered. "They said you were punished. I tried to save some bread for you, but Mr. Nai-sama made me eat every bit of my dinner."

"You didn't get dinner?" Tsuna asked, his blue eyes wide in confusion. "Didn't your mommy make you some."

"My mommy's dead." Hayato deadpanned.

Tsuna looked even more confused. "What's dead?"

It was Hayato's turn to look shocked. "What? You don't know what death is? What is wrong with this kid. Didn't your parents ever buy you a goldfish?"

"Now Hayato, it's not Tsuna's fault he doesn't understand."

"Whatever. Look, I'm sick of babysitting this brat! Let's go, Takeshi." Hayato jumped up to go.

"But, aren't you still hungry?" Tsuna called after him.

"I don't have money, so what does it matter?"

"I have money!"

Hayato stopped dead in his tracks. He turned his head over his shoulder to look at the younger boy. "...What do you mean?"

"I have money." Tsuna repeated. "I can buy you and Takeshi something!"

Both boys looked at the brunette in stunned silence. They didn't say anything when Tsuna jumped up and grabbed both boy's hands. They didn't say anything when he led them over to a candy stall. They didn't say anything when he dropped their hands to pick out a handful of juicy, hard green candy and paid the two dollars for it. They were still silent when Tsuna led them over to a bench and split the treat up evenly.

"There we go! Now we've each got some!" Tsuna carefully finished counting out five pieces for all of them. He popped one in his mouth and smiled as the apple taste exploded on his taste buds. "Come on, guys, eat!"

Hayato and Takeshi just looked at each other for a moment, before they slowly put a piece of candy in their mouths. They both were surprised to find how good it tasted.

After his third piece, Hayato finally spoke. "I've... never had candy a'fore. It's... kind of good." He looked down at his feet, before saying softly, "Thanks, Tsunayoshi..."

Tsuna smiled at the boy. "You're welcome, Hayato-kun!"

•~•~•~•~•~•

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :)**


	4. And So They MeetPart 2

**Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this to their favorites/alerts list! I especially want to thank ****_Pineapple the Fourth_**** who's review seriously made my day!**

**Edited: 1/23/13**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

**Chapter four: And So They Meet~Part 2**

"Tsuna?" The boys had just finished their candy and were sitting on a bench, talking quietly among themselves, when they heard a frantic woman's voice. "Tsuna?"

"Mama?" Tsuna cried out. Nana pushed through the crowd and ran to her little boy. "Mama!" Tsuna shouted again, throwing his arms around his mother's neck. He started to cry and apologize to his mother, but she interrupted him over and over again to make sure he wasn't hurt or that he hadn't been too scared.

After a good five minutes, she finally noticed Takeshi and Hayato, who were watching the scene in awkward embarrassment. "H-hello," She greeted them. "Who are you boys?"

Tsuna dried his eyes and quickly introduced his new friends. "That's Takeshi and Hayato, Mama! They're really nice. They helped me hide from two mean people and they gave me a doughnut to eat and we shared some apple candies!

"Takeshi and Hayato lived in an orphanage, even though Hayato says his father's still kicking." Hayato blushed when Tsuna repeated the choice of words he had used to explain that his father was still alive. "Three months ago, they were taken to live in a foster home until they were adopted, but their foster family's mean to them so they ran away."

Nana was surprised that the two boys had opened up so much to Tsuna in the short two hours he had been missing. She looked the two over carefully, noticing the several black-and-blue marks and various bruises that gave some truth to their story.

"I see..." Nana said simply.

Before she could say more, another shout was heard behind them and Iemitsu came through the crowd of shoppers. As soon as he saw Tsuna, he ran over to him, picked him up, hugged him and tossed him up in the air, crying for joy.

"Iemitsu," Nana interrupted him. Iemitsu looked at his wife, confused by her serious face. "We have a problem." She nodded to the two, dirty boys.

• • •

An hour and a half later, Nana, Iemitsu, Tsuna, Hayato and Takeshi all stood outside a pretty, well kept little house, located only two blocks from the Namimori Junior High School. The house looked to be two floors, a ground floor with an underground basement. It was painted white, with a concrete walkway lined with yellow flowers leading to a beautiful, wooden door.

"Well, here we are!" Nana said cheerily, trying to break the tense silence. She elbowed Iemitsu in the side.

"Ow! A-ah yeah... really nice looking house." He smiled at the three four year olds holding hands behind him.

Takeshi looked so upset, Nana thought he might cry. Hayato glared so menacingly, Iemitsu thought he might melt the house with his ice cold stare. But Tsuna's face hurt the young couple the most. He looked at his parents with a look that clearly said, "you've betrayed me".

Nana bit her lip. "Boys, I know this isn't what you were looking for when Tsuna told us your..." Nana searched for the right word.

"Lies?" Hayato asked bitterly.

"I didn't call your... story a lie." Nana mended.

"Well, who the heck cares what you think?" The Italian boy shouted. "And I wasn't looking for nothing when that kid told you about us." He glared at Tsuna and hissed, "Thanks a lot."

Tsuna sniffed loudly. Takeshi squeezed his hand gently for reassurance.

Nana sighed sadly, then nodded to Iemitsu. He knocked loudly on the door.

A few seconds later, a young woman opened the door. "Hello?" She asked in a quiet, confused voice. She seemed to have been in the middle of cleaning, as her long black hair was swept back into a bun on the top of her head and she wore a white apron over her jeans and blouse.

"Good afternoon." Nana greeted the woman with a bow. "Um, do you know these two boys?" She moved aside to reveal Hayato and Takeshi.

"O-oh..." the woman looked suddenly upset. "Well-"

"Who's that at the door?" A voice heavily accented called loudly from within the house. A very tall, thin man somewhere in his forties came to the door, in sight of the Vongola and two boys. His head was almost bald, except for the slick black sideburns and small, pointed beard on his chin. He wore a jeans and a dark blue shirt, with a very colorful vest over it.

"Kana, what's going o-" He stopped short when he caught sight of the two boys. "Oh! So you've found the runaways! Get in here!" He grabbed the boys by the ears and pulled them into the house.

"You rats! Think you can run away from me, eh? Well don't think you're so clev-" The man stopped short, having just noticed the presences of Nana, Iemitsu and their terrified four year old. The man cleared his throat and patted Takeshi on the head. "Well, we'll talk more about this later. Best get washed up for lunch, now."

The two boys stared at the man, confused. "You usually say we don't deserve lun-"

The older man stopped Takeshi's protest with a glare. The two quickly scurried away to their task. The man turned back to the Vongola with a large, impatient smile. "Well! Thank you so much for returning the two rascals. Those boys, don't know what to do with them half the time. Always getting into some mischief. Weren't any trouble for you I hope?"

"No, they were-"

"Well that's good! Now, we don't want to keep you." He started to close the door.

His wife intervened, though, by placing her foot on the threshold. "Won't you come in for tea?" She asked quickly. "As a sort of thank you?"

Nana and Iemitsu looked at each other for a moment. "We wouldn't want to bother you." Nana said quietly.

"Not at all." The woman smiled. "My name's Kana, and this is my husband, Ping."

"Ping" sent his wife a cold look. "Nai Ping. Pleasure to meet you...?"

"Vongola Iemitsu, and this is my wife, Nana, and our son, Tsunayoshi." Iemitsu introduced his family.

"Ah." Was all Ping said. His wife moved aside so the Vongola family could enter the house.

"First door on the left is the living room!" Ping directed the family. He turned to give his wife's foot a good smash before following the Vongola.

•~•~•~•~•~•

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :)**


	5. And So They MeetPart 3

**Author's Note: Thank you all SO much to everyone for reviewing, favoriting, following and just simply reading ****_Foster Family_****! You guys have no idea how happy you make me!**

**Story Note: I know that there aren't a lot of orphanages around much these days, but could we pretend there are?**

**Edited: 1/23/13**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

**Chapter five: And So They Meet~Part 3**

"What a pretty room!" Nana exclaimed at the sight of the Nai family's living room. It was a small,bright room, with light blue walls and a cream colored, carpeted floor. The furniture was simple; a dark blue leather couch was seated against the right wall, with two matching chairs facing it. A beautiful wooden coffee table sat inbetween the different seats. On the walls, several different pictures hung in various kinds of frames. Large, wooden bookcases filled with novels and magazines lined the left wall.

Kana smiled shyly. "Thank you, Sawada-san. Won't you all sit down?" She gestured to the large couch.

Iemitsu, Nana, Tsuna and Nai sat down, while Kana quickly hurried into the kitchen to make the tea. For a few minutes, there was awkward silence between the two families, until Nana complimented Ping, "Well, Nai-san, your two boys are very well behaved."

"My two boys?" Ping looked confused for a moment. "Oh! You mean Tamaki and Haru?"

"Takeshi and Hayato." Nana corrected quietly.

"Oh? Yes, of course. They're not my children. No, the orphanage they came from was over flowing with little ragamuffins, so my wife and I decided to take in the little black haired boy. You know. To help out. But he simply refused to leave his little friend behind. So..." Ping shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant way.

"That was pretty big of you, not wanting to separate them like that." Iemitsu complimented.

"And the extra money they offered helped as well." Kana added as she came in from the kitchen, carrying a large tray of tea and Japanese cookies.

"Money?" Iemitsu asked, confused. Nana gaped at his rudeness, elbowed him in the ribs and apologized profusely to the Nais.

"That's quite alright." Nai Ping answered slowly. He gave his wife a cold glare as she sat down on the chair next to his. "Yes, the home does pay a small sum every month for the boys' keep here. Just a trifle amount."

"Of course..." Nana trailed off, looking suddenly uncomfortable in the little white house.

• • •

Tsuna was getting very tired with all the grown up talk that was going on around him. The man named Ping scared him greatly, but what made it worse was that no one was paying much attention to the little four year old. So no one noticed when the little boy dropped his mother's hand, slipped off the couch and quietly left the room.

In the hallway, he tiptoed from door to door, looking for his two friends. The living room's arch was the first door in the long hall. Following that came the door to the kitchen and dining room, with a closet right across. Further down, the hall turned and opened into a small, square room, with four doors, most likely leading into different bedrooms and a bathroom.

As Tsuna didn't know which door led where, he merely decided to open the first door on the right (atleast Tsuna thought it was the right. He still wasn't quite sure which was which). It was the bathroom. He remembered having heard Nai telling Hayato and Takeshi to wash up in the bathroom.

"But they're not here now." Tsuna whined slightly. He missed the two boys already.

He sighed, and was about to try the next door when a faint shout and a bang froze his hand on the knob. He turned to the last door and walked up to place his ear against it. He heard voices. And one of them was unmistakably Hayato.

Tsuna opened the door, about to shout for joy at finding his friends. But the words died on his lips.

Hayato was on the floor of a rather large bedroom. His right eye was black-and-blued and there was a nasty bump on his head. A short, chubby, Japanese boy sat on him, pulling on the younger boy's silver hair and laughing sadistically. Takeshi stood in the furthermost corner of the room, silent tears dripping down his weak, pale face.

"Get _off_ of me!" Hayato screamed at his captor. He twisted and turned, but under the other boy's much larger bulk, it didn't do much good.

"Sorry, shrimp!" The Nais' son, Chiisei Nai, laughed maniacally at Hayato's pain. "You got me in big trouble when you ran off! So now I plan on getting some revenge! Some **BIG** revenge! Perhaps something like... this?" He suddenly pulled out a golden locket from his shirt.

Hayato's eyes widened in horror. "No, Chuchu! Please, no! Please!" Tears began to form and run in rapid streams down the little boy's face. "It's... it's all I have left from my mom!"

The evil grin got even large on Chiisei's face. "Is that so?" He asked innocently. "Wouldn't it be terrible if it were to break?" He pulled from his pocket a very hard, smooth rock.

"No!" Hayato screamed in agony. The boy, nicknamed "Chuchu", ignored him and put the locket on the solid wood floor. He slowly, slowly raised the rock weapon.

"**NO**!" Tsuna shouted. He charged at the seven year old before he can even touch the beautiful necklace and tackled him to the ground. Tsuna began to beat on him with all the might he had in his little body.

The two boys rolled around on the floor, punching, kicking and pulling each other's hair. Nether seemed ready to let the other go, so it was probably a good thing that the two's parents came in when they did.

"Tsuna!" Nana shrieked in horror.

"That's my boy!" Iemitsu shouted in pride.

"Chuchu!" Ping screamed, his hands pressed against his cheeks. Kana couldn't help but smirk. She did love her son, but it was about time someone "beat" some sense into him.

The next second, each of the parents regained their senses at the same moment. Iemitsu and Ping grabbed their sons away from each other, Ping frowning and Iemitsu barely able to surpress a smile.

"Tsuna!" Nana cried reproachfully. "What on earth where you doing?"

"Fighting, Mommy!" Tsuna explained.

"We know that! But why?"

"Because he was mean to Hayato!" Tsuna pointed an accusing finger at the Nai boy. "He hurt his eye! And his head! And his heart!"

"What?" All the adults looked to the small brunette, confused.

"His heart! Chuchu tried to break Hayato's heart by hurting his necklace! It was his mommy's." Tsuna gestured to the locket on the floor.

Nana ran over to Hayato, fussing about his poor state. She helped him to sit up, picked his locket up and sliped it around his neck. She then turned to give Nai a hard look. "I hope you plan on punishing that boy profusely."

"_My_ boy?!" Ping asked in startled anger. "It was that rat and your ill behaved monkey that hurt my Chuchu!"

"Monkey?" Iemitsu asked dangerously. "How _dare_ you insult my son!"

"He obviously takes after you." Was all Ping replied. "The big ape."

"Why you-"

"If you don't leave this house, I'll call the police!" Ping shouted.

"Don't bother yourself! We were just leaving!" Iemitsu pushed his wife and son towards the door of the small bedroom.

"But not without Hayato and Takeshi!" Nana insisted. She stopped her husband from leaving and ran to the two boys, putting a protective arm around them both. They stared at her incredulously.

"What do you mean?" Ping growled. "They are under my protection! I am their host!"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard!" Nana shot back. "You're their host? Then why have you beat them, starved them and threatened them to the point where two **four**year olds want to run away!"

"I bet the police wouldn't like that." Iemitsu pointed out calmly.

Ping looked beyond furious. "Fine!" He spat out. "Fine! Take those filthy monsters and leave my home! For good!"

"Sounds good." Iemitsu replied. He and his family left the bedroom and the angry shouts of Ping and his son behind.

At the door, a voice called out, "Wait!" The family turned before they had gone two steps from the house to see Kana standing in the doorway, her face filled with worried. "What are you going to do with Hayato and Takeshi-kun?

Iemitsu turned to look down at Nana. Nana blushed suddenly. "That's right, in my temper I got us in quite a situation." She looked down at her feet. "I'm so sorry, Iemitsu."

Surprising to both the women and children, Iemitsu began to laugh. "Well! Guess then there's only one way out of the 'situation'! We'll have to adopt them!"

"What?" Nana asked in shock.

"Tsuna would love having two other boys around to play and be rough with." Iemitsu said, still smiling. "Two more sons? I would be thrilled! But would you be able to handle three hyperactive four year olds running around all day?

Nana said nothing for a moment, thinking. Though they had no idea what was going on, Tsuna, Takeshi and Hayato all held their breaths, feeling the suspense.

"Of course!" Nana suddenly burst out. She dropped to her knees beside the three boys and hugged them tightly, small tears slowly trickling down her face. She repeated, "Of course I can handle them! I'll do better then that! I'll love them!"

Iemitsu's smile got even larger. "Well then, there's your answer, Mrs. Nai." He said, turning to Kana. He was surprised to see how relieved her face looked.

"Yes... there it is." Was all she could say. She, too, had silent tears running down her smiling face.

Iemitsu took his wife's arm in his and held Takeshi's hand. Nana took Tsuna's hand, who held on to Hayato's. They started out of the Nai Family's yard. Iemitsu turned back once, to see Kana's quiet "thank you" before he and his now larger family made their way into the quiet streets of Namimori.

• • •

"Mama!" Tsuna cried suddenly. "Where are we taking Hayato and Takeshi?"

"Well, Tsu-kun," Nana began, not stopping their brisk walk through town. "Since Nai-san is no longer interested in keeping the two boys with him, we need to take them back to the orphanage."

"Oh..." Tsuna said quietly. "Will I still be able to see them?" He asked hopefully.

"I have a better idea." His mother stopped to bend down and look her son in the face. "How would you like it if Hayato and Takeshi came to live with us?"

"Forever!?" Tsuna exclaimed.

"As long as they like." Nana laughed. "They could be your new brothers!"

"Brothers!" Tsuna asked. Nana nodded.

"If Hayato and Takeshi would like to."

Tsuna looked at the two boys, his eyes large and pleading.

"Brothers..." Hayato echoed in quiet amazement.

"As long as we like..." Takeshi whispered.

"Well boys?" Iemitsu asked. "How about it?"

The two no-longer-orphans looked at each other, grinning widely, before turning to their new family, the Vongola family, with a large, loud, "Yes!"

• • •

**Ending Note: In case you were confused as to the Nai son's name, his name was ****_Chiisei_****, but his nickname was ****_Chuchu_****. Okay?**

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :) **


	6. Tsunayoshi-sama

**Author's Note: When I had originally posted this chapter of ****_Foster Family_****, I had a poll to go with it where I asked my readers to please vote on their favorite nickname for Hayato to call Tsuna, out of three choices all suggested by certain reviewers.**

**-****_Mizurin Namikaze_**** and ****_OkamiAmmy-chan_**** both suggested "Tsunayoshi-sama/Tsuna-sama".**

**-****_FireFallAngel_**** suggested "Kyuuseishu" meaning "savior".**

**-****_Nixdragoon_**** suggested "Tsuniki", a name he/she created by combining Tsuna and Aniki.**

**And the winner is... Tsunayoshi-sama! Thank you, guys, for participating by suggesting and voting! And now, on to the chapter!**

**Edited: 1/23/13**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

**Chapter six: Tsunayoshi-sama**

"Now remember, you boys mustn't open this door for anything." Nana instructed her two sons, gravely. "Hayato is very sick."

"Could we get sick too, Mommy?" Tsuna asked, his eyes wide in worry over his new family member.

"I'm afraid I don't know, Tsu-kun." Nana answered with a sigh. "It's just all so strange."

Nana walked away from the two boys and went downstairs, leaving Tsuna and Takeshi to stare at her bedroom door. Takeshi sighed heavily.

"Tsuna," He asked his new brother, the name easily rolling off his tongue. "Why do you think Hayato's so sick?"

"I was kind of hoping you would know, Takeshi. You're his best of friend." Tsuna looked down at his feet sadly. "Hayato doesn't even seem to like me anymore..."

It was true. The two weeks following Hayato and Takeshi's adoption had been filled with chaos. Between buying the boys clothes, beds, blankets and other kinds of necessities, there had been little time for the new brothers to play or even talk together much. When finally the new Vongola boys had been moved into Tsuna's room and life slowed down a bit, Tsuna had hoped he would at last have time to become closer to his new family members. But that's where trouble began.

Hayato had started acting very strange around his new parents and brother. He would stutter when he spoke or flinch if one of them moved too quickly. At night, he would fidget in his sleep. Iemitsu and Nana had hoped it was merely the excitement and confusion of being moved to a new home, but it later seemed to be much worse.

One night Hayato had woken up crying and screaming from a nightmare. After hours of trying to soothe him, he had finally collapsed from exhaustion in Nana and Iemitsu's bed. In the morning, Nana woke up to find him sick and chilled with a 104° fever. That had been three days ago. Since then, neither Tsuna nor Takeshi had been allowed to see him.

"Oh, I wish Mama would let me talk to him!" Tsuna exclaimed, stomping his little foot. "I wanna know why Hayato got sick!"

"Bugs?" Takeshi suggested, having heard Iemitsu suggest Hayato's fever was merely a "bug going around".

"No! If it was bugs, then Mama would've said so. It must be different."

"Hmmm..." Both boys scratched their heads and rubbed their chins, trying to find a reason for their brother's sudden illness. They didn't have long to ponder, though, as Nana soon called up the stairs,

"Dinner time, boys!"

The two four year olds bolted downstairs, forgetting about Hayato in their need for food.

• • •

It was some time later, when Tsuna awoke late at night to the sound of quiet weeping. "Who's at?" He asked himself, stifling a yawn. He reached for the nightlight seated on his bedside table, before hopping out of his covers and sleepily stumbling over to Takeshi's bed.

He shined the light on his older brother's face, but Takeshi was sound asleep. Not a tear on his face nor pillow.

"Hm," Tsuna hummed quietly. "If Takeshi isn't crying, then who is?"

The little detective turned away from the other boy and walked slowly toward the bedroom door, careful not to make a single noise to disturb the sleeping Takeshi. He then tiptoed down the hall.

"Boy, it sure is dark out here." Tsuna shivered in the cold, quiet hallway. "But I have to find out who's crying." The brave four year old continued on, following the faint weeping noise to the door of his parents' bedroom. The door was open.

"Someone in Mama and Daddy's room is crying. But... Mama said not to open the door." Tsuna mumbled glumly. "But... the door isn't closed. So, I wouldn't be opening the door..." Tsuna liked this idea, so he slipped through the small opening (careful not to "open" the door any farther) and passed into the dark bedroom.

Inside, Tsuna could make out his father and mother, sound asleep in a large arm chair in the corner of the square room. He turned to look at the bed, the crying sound coming from a very small boy, sitting up in the center of the sea of blankets, tears streaming down his face.

"Hayato!" Tsuna whispered sharply. He ran over to the bed and threw himself on top of it. "Hayato, what's wrong?"

"I-I-I had a dr-dream." The little boy choked out.

"What kind of dream?"

"A b-bad one."

"What happened?" Tsuna asked. He shushed and comforted the Italian child as he spoke.

"T-Takeshi and I were p-playing when you and Nana and I-Iemitsu came over and started yelling at me. You started hitting me and hur-hurting me and you just laughed and Takeshi just stared even though I was crying. Then Iemitsu sent m-me a-away and I had to live with Nai-sama ag-again only I was all alone 'c-cause Takeshi stayed with you 'cause you l-l-liked him." Hayato hiccuped and wept as he ran through his whole, nightmarish experience.

Tsuna nodded comfortingly. He rubbed soothing circles on Hayato's back. "It was just a dream, Hayato-kun. Mama and Daddy and I wouldn't hurt you. We like you!"

Hayato began to cry harder. "How do I know you like me? Nai was really nice the first few days we stayed there, but then he got so mean and hit us and turned into a monster! How do I know you won't, too?"

Tsuna looked stunned. He sat there in complete silence, while Hayato continued to cry his eyes out in the blankets.

"Because I love you."

"Huh?" Hayato questioned, looking up at the brunette.

"Because I love you." Tsuna repeated. "And so does Mama and Daddy and Takeshi. We would never be mean to you 'cause of loving you."

Hayato was silent. He had never really supposed any one could love him. Even Takeshi, though he was his best and only friend. But here was this litte boy, telling him that he had a whole family that loved him.

Hayato stopped crying and layed back on the large, fluffy pillows. Tsuna rested a tired head next to him. Just as the little brunette was about to fall asleep, Hayato whispered,

"Thank you... Tsunayoshi-sama..."

••• The next morning •••

Beautiful, clear sunlight fell on Nana's face, causing her to stir in her sleep. Her eye lids soon fluttered open, a yawn escaping from her mouth. After the tired dizziness left her, she got up to check on her sickly son. What she found greatly surprised her.

"Iemitsu!" She whispered loudly.

"Hum?" Her husband grunted, just waking up. He stretched and yawned loudly before asking, "What is it, Nana?"

"Come here, quick!"

Iemitsu immediately got up to see what was wrong. He sighed in relief and delight at what his wife had found.

In the two's bed, Hayato and Tsuna lay sleeping back to back. Their faces shown with tranquil peace and rest. What was more, Hayato's once pale face had regained some of it's natural color, and when Nana felt his forehead, she found that his fever had broken.

"Nothing like brothers, huh?" Iemitsu asked his wife, smiling widely.

Nana sighed happily. "No; nothing like brothers."

•~•~•~•~•~•~•

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :) **


	7. Bath Time!

Author's note: Thank you everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Here's a second chapter in one weekend! :O Hope everyone enjoys!

In answer to Guest's question: First, sorry for forgetting to answer last chapter! Second, no, I promise Chrome will not be Mukuro's sibling, adopted or otherwise. I truly can not wait to get to Chrome! I have so many jokes about her hair style, name and everything! XD

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

•••

Chapter seven: Bath Time!

"It was a peaceful day on the S.S. Vongloa for captain Tsuna and his crew. They all fished and ate sand-witches and drank root beer!"

"And first-mate Takashi brought sushi 'cause he really loved sushi!"

"But then... a terrible storm happened upon the little fishing boat and waves elevenity feet high rained down on the-"

"Hey Hayato! You're getting water in my eye!"

"Opps... sorry Tsuna-sama."

"That's okay. But no more storms."

"Haha, yeah. So, now that the storm was over, Fishermen Takashi and his friends went below deck to play a game of... hum..."

"Gold Fish!"

"Yeah! Captain Tsuna suggested they play a game of Gold fish! And so, they played and-"

"And a giant, screaming octopus monster attacked the ship! It wrapped its tentacles around the ship and shook it and shaked it and-"

"Hey Hayato! Stop it! You're hitting me!"

"Oh, sorry, Takashi."

"No more octopuses, please Hayato?"

"...okay..."

"Good! Now, Captain Tsuna and his friends decided to go for a swim in the ocean on account of its being a really nice day out. So Tsuna did a cannonball..."

"And Takashi dived..."

"... sigh, and Hayato just jumped in 'cause he couldn't think of anything else to do..."

"And so Tsuna and his two bestest friends swam and had lots of fun-"

"Until a huge, man-eating dolphin with big sharp teeth attacked them!"

"Hayato!"

"Hey, dolphin's don't have teeth."

"Of course they do! You got teeth, don't you, Takashi?"

"Well yeah!"

"And doesn't Tsuna-sama?"

"Yup!"

"And so do I and Mommy and Dad! See? Everyone's got teeth!"

"My grandpa doesn't."

"What?"

"My daddy's daddy don'ts got any teeth."

"Woah! Really, Tsunayoshi-sama? Truly?"

"Yep! And now that we're brothers, it's all our daddy's daddy!"

"That's... so... COOL! I got a grandpa with no teeth!"

"Okay boys! Time to come out now and get dried off for bed."

"Okay, Mommy!"

"Um, Mommy?"

"Yes Hayato-kun?"

"Can we go visit Grandpa?"

•••

Was this a hard chapter to understand? I wasn't sure about it. My brother and sister said it was good but I don't know... Oh, I know I made a lot of spelling errors, but most of them were on purpose to make it read more like three four year olds were talking. And the game they refer to as "Gold Fish" is actually "Go Fish"! XD


	8. Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn(if I did, Lal and Colonello's wedding wouldn't have been postponed! :(

•••

Chapter eight: Friends

A little girl sat by her window, looking out at the street with eager brown eyes. She pulled and played anxiously with her brown pigtails, impatient for something. "Ugh, where are they? They always come home around this time!"

Just as she finished her quiet, childish outburst, she caught sight of a small family of five rounding the corner. She immediately straightened her petite, four year old body and pressed her face against the glass of her cozy window seat. Never taking her eyes off them, she studied the distant figures.

There was a tall, muscular young man with shaggy blond hair and tanned skin. A small, smiling woman with long brown hair walked arm in arm with him. Ahead of the couple raced three little boys. A long, thin child with black hair ran ahead of the others, laughing excitedly at his impending victory. A small, foreign boy with silver hair was trying desperately to catch up, scowling at his futile attempts. The smallest boy, a little brunette, was completely left behind by the other boys. But he didn't seem to mind, as he was laughing and calling and cheering his friends on all at the same time.

The little girl smiled sadly. She didn't have any friends, nor siblings. Sure, she had her loving parents and plenty of toys, but both mama and papa worked and how many times could you dress a doll?

The only thing that could make the cute four year old forget her loneliness was being able to watch this small family. They always looked so happy and loving, which the little girl didn't all the time have. So, every Saturday, she would station herself at the window of her lonely bedroom and quietly watch the group walk by, hoping that one day she would be that happy.

A single tear began to roll down her cheek and splashed soundlessly on the girl's hand. As if hearing the imperceptible noise, the petite brown haired boy looked up.

His big blue eyes stared straight into her hazel ones. His soft, white face broke out into a friendly, shy smile. He waved.

She waved back. The boy opened his mouth, as if to speak, but something seemed to distract him. He turned in the direction of his quickly disappearing family and, with one last kind look at the far away onlooker, hurried to catch up. The little girl continued to watch long after he ran out of sight.

"One day," The lonely child sighed suddenly, still staring at the empty street. "I'll meet kids like those and play with them and be their friend."

She clutched her tiny hands together as she made this innocent little promise, praying she could have her wish come true.

"Haru!" A voice called from down the stairs of the large, Japanese house. "Dinner time!"

"Coming, Mommy!" Haru called, taking one last, longing look out the window before sprinting down the stairs.

•••

Hello, everyone! I am SO EXTREMELY SORRY this very short chapter took so long! No excuses, just sorry...

I hope this was a decent chapter, I wasn't too sure of it. By the way, does anyone think there should be a chapter between "Bathtime!" And "Tsunayoshi-sama"? I don't want to rush everything. Please tell me your opinion in a review or personal message! And if you have any ideas for a chapter, please tell me!


	9. Wani's Swimming PoolPart one

Author's Apology: I'M SO EXTREMELY SORRY! *does Gokudera apology, complete with banging head on floor* I've been bad about updating this lately... but I'm NOT going to put it on hiatus! I will work harder on it and, guess what? I'm off of school this week! So I'll have plenty of time to write! I'll try to post another chapter this weekend!

Since Thanksgiving was the other day(hope you all had a great time, by the way!), here's what I'm thankful for... YOU! And because I am, I made a small late Thanksgiving present for Foster Family's favoriters and followers on my profile. Check it out when you're done with this too short chapter! :)

I'm thankful for all the people who review Foster Family!

mangafreakfoeva

hellokitty0807

Lexie-chan94

Bleach-ed-Na-tsu

OkamiAmmy-chan

CH0C0CANDYZ

lazura234

Guest

Mizurin Namikaze

Helloimlxs

FireFallAngel

Nixdragoon

hitomi65

Pineapple the Fourth

Onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

•••

Chapter nine: Wani's Swimming Pool~Part one

"Okay, boys! You all ready to go?" Nana bent down to look her three little sons in the face. They nodded quietly.

It had been three months since Tsuna had first stumbled upon the two mistreated orphans. In that short time they had all prospered. Takeshi was still very thin and tall, but it was more natural and healthy. His eyes lost their sad, frightened look and his grin was genuinely happy.

Hayato was less like the terrified boy who was so brutally beaten and picked on and showed the Vongola couple a rough, fighting little spirit. But hidden deep within the young Spartan's soul was a sense of love and loyalty, clearly shown in Hayato's attitude towards his brothers.

Even Tsuna had greatly improved in the company of his loving friends. He was barely ever idle now, always playing, scheming or doing something adorable with Hayato and Takeshi. Nana knew that she would never again have to worry about her son being lonely.

"Mama, do we have to go?" Tsuna asked, his big blue eyes begging his mother not to give him the answer he knew would come.

Nana smiled at him and rumbled his crazy brown hair. "Yes, Tsu-kun, I'm afraid so. Daddy and I both agree that swimming lessons would be good for you boys. Swimming is a lot of fun once you get the hang of it."

"But we already know how to swim!" Hayato said indignantly. He pointed to a small, blow-up kiddies pool. It had been the boys' refuge from the summer heat until its sad demise caused by a sharp toy dinosaur beak.

"We were real good at swimming in that!" Takeshi agreed with a smile.

Nana laughed quietly. "Yes, boys, I know you were. But swimming in a big pool is different. Your feet won't touch the bottom."

"Really?" Tsuna asked, more than a little upset by this revelation.

Nana had turned to put the last swim bag in the car, so she didn't see her son's panic. "Yep~!" She chirped. Before any of the boys could continue the conversation, Nana leaned down and helped each of them into their booster seats.

•••

Forty minutes later, Nana parked the car in front of a small, blue building. A large sign shaped like a swimming pool hung above the entrance. It read, "Wani's Swimming Pool".

Nana read the sign out loud to the little boys. Tsuna sighed upon hearing the clever name. 'Great, in case a kid isn't scared 'nough about having to swim alone, they had to name the pool after a sea monster...' He thought to himself, glumly.

The name had the exact opposite effect on Hayato. "Wow! Wani's pool? Does that mean Wani actually swims here? Are we gonna see him?" The little Italian bounced up and down in excitement at the thought of seeing a real dragon. "Are we? Are we?"

Nana laughed and rumpled his grey hair. "Maybe! I heard he comes here sometimes when it's really hot to cool his big, scaly body!"

Hayato's eyes widened in pleasure. Takeshi smiled to himself, knowing his mommy was only joking but didn't want to ruin his brother's hopes. Poor Tsuna, though, was on the verge of having a panic attack.

The family entered through the glass doors and found themselves in a large, square room. Their sandals echoed slightly on the white titled floor and bounced off the sea green walls. To the right of the entrance was a little sitting area with wooden benches and coffee tables. A simple wooden book self filled with magazines stood in one corner. On the other side of the room were two doors, leading into men and women's bathrooms. A water fountain sat inbetween. In the center was a large, wrap-around desk.

No one was inside, so Nana just led the boys to the waiting area and suggested they get ready for their class already. Hayato and Takeshi readily agreed, immediately trying to tear off their tank tops and kick their sandals off their feet. Tsuna, though, worked slowly and reluctantly, grumbling silently,

'Stupid pool! I hate swimming! In fact, I hate water! I don't like baths and pools aren't that great either. They're just big bowls of water that they make kids have fun in! Water storms aren't fun! Noah's Ark wasn't fun! Rain isn't fun! And... oh...'

Tsuna suddenly started squirming. "M-Mama! I really have to go potty!"

Nana only had time to point to the door before Tsuna raced off in that direction, muttering under his breath, 'Stupid water!'

•••

Tsuna left the bathroom a few minutes later, wiping his still damp hands with a papertowel. As his eyes scanned the room for a garbage can, they landed on his mother who was now talking with some stranger.

As the little boy came closer, he noticed the person was a young woman, looking to be in her early to middle twenties. She was tall and thin, with shoulder length, thin blond hair. Her long white arms were sunburned where her blue t-shirt didn't reach.

They woman looked up suddenly and turned to stare at him. After a quick inspection, she smiled and gestured for Tsuna to come closer. Tsuna liked her kind, hazel eyes.

"Tsu-kun!" Nana smiled at her son. "Meet Loov-chan. She is going to teach you how to swim this summer!"

The woman bent down next to Tsuna. "There's no need to be so formal! You and your brothers must call me Rosie or Rose-chan, okay?" The Vongola boys nodded. "That's good! So, why don't you three tell me your names?"

"I'm Takeshi!" The boy said with a friendly grin.

"Hayato."

"And I'm Tsunayoshi, but you can call me Tsuna."

"Hayato, Takeshi and Tsunayoshi. Well, half my class is already here!"

"Half?" Hayato asked thoughtfully. He thought for a second then said, "So we have to wait for three other kids."

Rosie nodded. "How old are you, Hayato?"

"Four, I'll be five in the fall."

"Well you're very smart for your age!" Rosie again turned to speak with Nana, so the Vongola boys wandered over to look at the bookshelf.

"No kid's books." Takeshi said after they had searched the selves.

"I guess we should just sit." Tsuna said, gesturing with a full hand towards the nearby bench.

"Hey, Tsunayoshi-sama? What's that?" Hayato pointed to the younger boy's right hand.

Tsuna blinked. "Oh, I completely forgot! It's just a papertowel I used to dry my hands. I couldn't find a place to throw it away."

"I can take that for you." A quiet voice behind them spoke. The boys spun around.

Looking down at them was an older man in his late sixties. His grey hair was thin and short, not styled in any particular way. His tan and sunburned face was scruffy and his eyes were blue. He smiled shyly at them.

"I'll throw that away for you." The man repeated himself.

"O-oh, thank you." Tsuna stuttered, handing the man the paper. Nana and Rosie walked over to them.

"This is my father, Ichihiro. Most kids just call him Wani-san, though." Rosie said, putting an arm around her shorter father's shoulders. "Dad is getting too old to teach class, so he mans the desk mostly. Dad will sit outside with us in the shade while I teach today, just in case I need any help, though."

"It's very nice to meet you, Ichihiro-san." Nana shook hands with him. The boys did the same.

"Have you ever met Wani?" Hayato asked earnestly, his green eyes alight with excitement.

Instead of laughing, Ichihiro's face turned very serious. He bent down and whispered in the little boy's ear, "Yes, on several occasions. In fact, I've even had to fight him to keep him from eating any of the children that my Rosie teaches."

Hayato's face light up in adoration for the grandfather looking man. "Really?" He breathed. Ichihiro nodded.

Tsuna could feel his last few hopes of safety and security slipping away. He felt like running away screaming, but that proved impossible as just then the glass door opened and in walked the last three students.

"Alright!" Rosie clapped her hands excitedly. "If everyone's ready, let's go swimming!"

•••

I was originally going to introduce Haru in this chapter, but decided this was a decent place to stop. In the next chapter, the boys will meet Haru-chan and in the one after you'll get a better picture of her life. Hope you enjoyed!

Answers to Questions that may have crossed your mind:

Wani is the name of a sea dragon in Japan!

If they have motorbikes that fly, they must have cars!

Tsuna's eyes have yet to turn brown!


	10. Wani's Swimming PoolPart two

Author's note: Hi, everyone! Looky here! Another chapter! ^_^ I hope this one is a lot more entertaining than the last. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I haven't owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn for the last nine chapters; I still don't now.

•°•°•°•

Chapter ten: Wani's Swimming Pool~Part two

"Bye, Mama!" Takeshi waved happily to the brunette woman, who was leaving her little sons behind to have their first swim class.

"Oh yeah, see you later." Hayato said in a distracted tone, his eyes fixed on the glass doors leading to the pools.

'Take me with you!' Tsuna wanted to scream. But that seemed silly when he had his two brothers next to him. So he tried for a smile and just waved, squeezing Hayato's hand for reassurance.

"See you later, boys! Have fun!"

Together with the other three children, the Vongola boys were led to another set of glass doors, situated at the end of the waiting room. As the tinted doors were pushed open, Tsuna could hear all of the children (including himself) gasp.

Outside the building was a large expanse of land, completely surrounded by towering trees. Six crystal clear pools, all of different depths and shapes, were situated in the strange, smooth, grey ground.

"Here it is, my little students!" Rosie said, holding her arms out for emphasis. "By your open mouths, I'd say you're pretty impressed."

"Yes!" Most of the children exclaimed at once. A sudden chatter began, as all the kids wanted their opinion heard.

"The water's so clear!" A blond haired girl squealed.

"Look at that pool, Kumi!" Her brother spoke, pointing to one of the swimming holes. "It's shaped like a turtle!"

"And that one's a cat!" A little brunette shouted, her long brown ponytail bobbing up and down as she bounced excitedly in place.

"Look, Takeshi! Tsuna-sama!" Hayato pointed. "That one's a bird!"

"I don't want to see." Tsuna mumbled miserably, covering his eyes with his hands.

"That's right." Ichihiro smiled kindly. "All the pools are shaped after certain animals and have a different depth."

"What's a depth?" The brown haired girl asked.

"Not 'a depth'. Depth is how deep something is." Hayato corrected, patronizingly. The little girl glared.

"Thank you, Hayato." Ichihiro patted the grey head. "Now, the deepest pool is the bird, or dove, to be more specific. But we won't use that one for quite sometime."

"For now, we'll just be using the turtle shaped pool." Rosie finished. "It's not too deep, so it's perfect for you kids to learn swimming in. But let's first introduce ourselves, hm? Let's all say our names and ages."

All the little children chirped their agreement. The little blond siblings went first.

"My name's Ookami and this is my sister, Kumo." The boy explained.

"We're twins and always do everything together~!" Kumo sang. "Oh, and we're six!"

"My name's Takeshi!" Takeshi beamed at everyone. "I'm five!"

"Hayato..." Hayato mumbled, suddenly uncomfortably with all the eyes on him. He tried to hide his uneasiness with a scowl. "I'm four."

"Miura Haru!" The girl smiled and bowed elegantly. "I'm four years old right now! It's a pleasure to meet all of you!"

"What a little lady!" Rosie laughed kindly, clapping at the four year old's introduction.

Hayato and Tsuna looked at each other and shrugged. "I think she's just weird." The Italian whispered. Tsuna nodded.

"My name's Tsunayoshi, but Tsuna's fine. And I'm four, too."

"That's my father, Wani-san. And everyone knows me," Rosie finished up. "And lady's don't need to give away their age. So let's just get started! I'm going to split you children up in to groups of two, each. That way we all have somebody with us at all times, okay? So, how about... Kumo and Ookami stick together. Takashi and little Tsunayoshi. And then Hayato and Haru! Okay?"

The twins and Vongola brothers smiled at this arrangement, but Hayato shouted, "That's not fair! Why do I have to get stuck with this girl?"

Haru's mouth dropped in astonished anger. "Hahi?! Well, Haru doesn't want to be with a big meanie, either!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Better!"

"Wait a minute!" Rosie called a time out. "What's wrong with you two? You only just met each other and you're already fighting? Hayato, why can't you be with Haru-chan?"

"'Cause I don't want to!" The little boy huffed. He couldn't tell her that he was afraid of the little brunette. Through all the excitement of the day, Hayato hadn't thought about that he would be forced to meet with other people. Memories of his time at the orphanage and at Nai's house surfaced, causing him to shiver.

Hayato covered up the tremble by rubbing his arms and pretending to look cold, but Takeshi noticed. He, too, was thinking of the past and the effects it had tolled on his brother. He opened his mouth to say he would be Haru's partner when a little voice beside him beat him to it.

"I'll go with Haru." Tsuna volunteered, raising his hand like in a class room.

Hayato looked at the brunette, clearly seeing the comforting message the younger boy was trying to convey. 'It's alright. No one will hurt you here.' Hayato let his arms drop. He didn't feel cold anymore.

Rosie turned to Tsuna. "Thank you, Tsuna. That's very nice and I hope Hayato and Haru will remember how nice you are being." The instructor said pointedly.

The two children lowered their heads, embarrassed. "We're sorry..."

"That's okay, I just hope you guys can get along better in the future. Now, everyone take your partner and sit next to each other on the different stickers beside the turtle pool. Be very careful while walking, okay? The floor is slippery."

Rosie pointed to the smallest pool, where the children could see three different colored stickers at the head and flippers of the "turtle". Hayato and Takeshi took the left flipper, while the blond twins took the right. Tsuna and Haru made their way slowly to the head.

"Okay!" Rosie called loudly so she was heard by all the children. "I'm going to get in first, and then each of you will take turns coming in. I'll help you to make sure you-" The young woman was interrupted by a loud and quick banging on the glass doors. "What on earth... I'm sorry, kids! Just sit tight and I'll chase away this guy." Rosie walked off quickly, slightly worried about the meaning for this unexpected visit.

The children sat patiently, letting their bare feet dangle in the cool water. The twin's laughter echoed quietly in the room, while Hayato and Takeshi played I-Spy. Tsuna and Haru just sat in awkward silence.

Two minutes passed. Five minutes passed. Ten minutes. Where was Rosie?

"Hey?" A sudden voice beside Tsuna asked. The brunette looked at Haru, who played nervously with her yellow bathing suit's skirt. "I'm sorry about calling your brother a meanie. Please don't be angry."

"Huh? I'm not angry!" Tsuna said, surprised.

"Really? Then how come you're not talking to me?"

"W-what?"

"You were being real quiet!"

"Oh... well that's just because I'm-"

"You know that's rude!"

Tsuna stopped short. He looked incredulously at the little girl waving her finger in his face. "What?!" He demanded.

"It's rude to ignore people!" Haru repeated.

"But-! You weren't saying anything either!"

"That's because I thought you might be angry with me."

"So?"

"So, it would have been awkward for me to start a conversation with a person who might be angry at me."

"But I wasn't mad!"

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"You could've asked!"

"But what if you were mad at me? That would have been weird!"

"But I wasn't!"

"But what if you were?"

"But I wasn't!"

"But what if you were?!"

"But. I. WASN'T!"

"But what if-"

"Oh stop it! Now you're being rude!" Tsuna huffed, crossing his arms and turning away from the girl. He wasn't entirely sure what "rude" meant, but it must have been mean because of the way Haru's face was contorting.

"Rude? Me? RUDE? You dare to call me rude!? You mean, terrible, ill-behavied, terrible terrible little boy!" Haru screamed indignantly.

Tsuna covered his ears. "I can't hear you!" "Ugh!" Haru suddenly jumped up. "I'm telling Rose-chan what you-" But she never finished.

Haru had turned too fast and had slipped on the wet floor. She fell backwards while Tsuna watched in horror as she fell into the pool.

"Help!" Haru flailed her arms about widely, screeching and holloring at the top of her lungs. Tsuna jumped up, just as the other children reached them.

"What happened?" Takeshi asked quickly.

"We have to help her!" Ookami said, bending down and reaching out to the panicking girl.

"We don't reach!" Kumo cried, clutching her hands tightly together.

"We need Rosie-chan!" Hayato said, racing off towards the glass doors, Takeshi and Kumo close behind him.

"Help! Please help!" Haru cried out.

"They won't make it in time." Ookami whispered quietly, like he heard them do in Batman.

"But, they have to!" Tsuna exclaimed, a huge amount of guilt suddenly weighing heavily on his little heart. 'But what if they don't?' He asked himself.

"Oh... help!" Haru gurgled.

'What if they take too long?'

"Pl-please! Someone! Save... me...!"

'Someone... needs to help her!'

Tsuna knew what he had to do. He quickly pushed Ookami out of the way.

"H-hey! What are you do-"

And jumped into the water.

"Tsuna!" The blond boy cried.

But Tsuna didn't hear him. Time seemed to slow down for the little Japanese boy. He seemed to just float above the water for a few minutes, like a lily pad on a pond, before he gently felt the cool waves flowing over his body. He thought he felt his feet touch solid ground for a moment, but decided it was only his imagination. He perpeled himself off of some unknown surface, straight towards the drowning girl.

Tears ran down Haru's pale face, mixing with the chemical filled pool water dripping from her now lose and tangled hair. For just a second, her eyes opened and she stared right into the face of Tsuna. Her wet bangs framed her beautiful, hazel, squinting pupils.

Then Tsuna caught her. He held her effortlessly, in a style he had once seen his dad use on his mom. One arm under her legs, the other cradling her head.

"I'm sorry for being rude." He mumbled, before throwing her asside like a sack of potatoes, where Ookami could pull her to safety.

Haru turned to him and screamed, "I won't go without you!" And tried frantically to catch his hand.

But Tsuna only shock his head. "Go on... with out me..." He whispered as he fell into the waves.

"Tsuna!"

"Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-sama!"

"Tsuna! The water's only three feet deep! Your feet should reach the bottom!"

Tsuna blinked. Life returned to normal speed. No longer was he a dramatic hero trying to save his woman at the cost of his life, but he was just four year old Tsuna, sitting at the bottom of a children's pool.

Tsuna planted his feet firmly on the bottom and straightened his whole body until his head shot up out of the water. After gasping for breath for a few moments, he noticed (slightly embarrassed) that the water only reached up to his neck.

"O-opps... sorry." He grinned sheepishly.

Rosie sighed heavily with relief. "Oh, Tsuna! Thank goodness you're okay!" She pulled the little boy out of the water and nearly crushed him in an embrace.

"C-can't... breath... again...!" The little hero gasped.

"Oh! Sorry." She put him down. "Oh, Tsuna-kun! You were just amazing! Saving Haru like that!"

"You saw?" Tsuna asked.

"Yes! You are Haru's hero, you know! Oh, I might not have made it in time if you hadn't jumped in." She again began to suffocate him in a hug.

"Hurray for Tsunayoshi-sama!" Hayato cheered.

"Hurray!" Everyone echoed.

Haru ran up to the boy, her eyes still red from crying and the water. "Oh... Tsuna-san..." She whimpered. She suddenly threw her arms around him and screamed, "You're my Kyuuseishu!"

"W-what?!" Tsuna asked, as the girl hugged him. "Please get off!" He tried to push Haru off, but she just smiled and kept him in an embrace. "Help! Someone!"

"Father!" Rosie hissed angrily at her father. "You were right there! Why didn't you help Haru?"

Ichihiro put a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulders. "Because then Tsunayoshi wouldn't have learned not to be afraid of the water."

"What?"

"I knew Tsunayoshi wouldn't let the girl drown, and would eventually jump in to save her. And if he needed help, I was right here."

Rosie was silent for a while. But she soon smiled and hugged Ichigiro. "Well, your parenting skills leave a lot to be desired, but it's no wonder my grandparents put 'hiro' at the end of your name."

The older man laughed and directed his daughters gaze to the group of children. Rosie chuckled.

"Get off Tsunayoshi-sama!" Hayato demeaned as he grabbed Haru's legs and tried to separate her from Tsuna.

"Come on, Haru-chan!" Takeshi grunted, trying to loosen the girl's grip around his brother's neck.

"H-help!" Tsuna choked out.

"Looks like Tsunayoshi has a fan!" Rosie laughed.

•••

"Ugh..." Hayato, Takeshi and Tsuna groaned as they left their swim class. Going through complete terror, saving a girl from drowning and then learning how to float really took it out of a kid.

All the boys brightened when they caught sight of their mother. "Mama!"

Nana turn and opened her arms to catch the three children who barreled into her embrace. "Hello, Tsu-kun! Takeshi, dear! Hayato! Is that a black 'n blue?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine, Mom!" Hayato smiled.

"Well, that's good! Did you have fun?"

"Um... sure!"

"Uh, yes?"

"It was... fine."

"Excellent! Now, I want to introduce you to a friend of my from when I was a young girl in high school! Meet Miura Mina!" Nana gestered to a young woman around her own age. The woman was petite and pretty, with shoulder length, reddish-brown hair and very red lipstick.

Mina bent down to look at the boys. "Hello, Tsunayoshi, Takeshi, Hayato! I have a girl just your age, you know. Would you like to come over to my house and play with her why I catch up on old times with your mom?"

"Oh yes!" Tsuna smiled, speaking for his brothers.

"What's the girl's na-"

"Mama!"

All three of the boys froze.

'No, please no!'

'Why? Why?!'

'Oh dear...'

"Mama!" Haru skipped over and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. She turned and noticed the horror stricken boys. "Oh Mama! You've met Tsuna-san and Takeshi-kun!" She discreetly stuck her tongue out at Hayato.

"Yes! And they're coming over to play with you after they have their bathes at home!"

"Really?" Haru ran over and gave Tsuna another bone-crushing hug. "Yay! Tsuna-san wanted to come over so he could see me!"

Tsuna sighed heavily. "Mama? Can we take another swimming lesson? Like, right NOW?"

•••

I hope I made some HaruxTsuna lover very happy with this chapter! :) By the way, that reference to Hayato's social problems will explain his personality later, so I needed to fit that in. Hope it wasn't too awkward. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you tell me what you think in a small review! ^_^

Quick thing: I want to write a Christmas one-shot involving one of the Vongola couples that I like best. But, I'm not sure which couple to write it for. I'll be posting a poll about it on my profile, so please check it out! Before you vote though, three things:

One: I already have an idea for a two-shot between Kyoko and Tsuna, that I will definitely write and post after Christmas, so maybe you want some other couple for this story?

Two: I have a multi-chapter story idea for Mukuro and Chrome, but it's really slow and I already have three multi-chapter fanfics, so I probably wouldn't post it for a LONG time! Still, thought I'd mention it.

Three: Is it okay to post a song fanfiction if you post it under "song and anime crossover"? If not, I'll just neglect the lyrics.

ONE MORE THING BUT DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE AND DO NOT LIKE TO KNOW THIS THINGS LIKE ME! :

A few days ago, twenty-seven people, eighteen of which elementary school children, were shot and killed in a Connecticut school by a young twenty-two year old who suddenly went mad. The man ended up shooting himself afterwards. Please, keep these people and their friends and family in your hearts and prayers this Christmas.

The Bible says that, if two people pray for the same thing, it is sure to be answered. A fellow fanfiction author, penname Seme in Training, is sick with cancer. Remember her and pray that she gets well. :')

My aunt is pregnant! With twins! But, it took a very long time for her to get these babies and we are all worried about the twins and her safety and health. Please, pray for them!

Thank you and God bless!


	11. Another Haru

**Pathetic-Author's Note: No amount of apologizing could explain this late chapter. But I really am sorry! Here concludes the (stressful) Haru Arc! I hope it's not disappointing. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn!**

Chapter eleven: Another Haru

Tsuna and Hayato dragged their feet reluctantly behind them, their heads down and looks of displeasure and annoyance on their young faces. Takeshi walked beside their mother several paces in front of them, while Nana searched the house numbers, continually glancing at the slip of paper she held in her hand. She bit her lip in concentration, trying to find the address her friend had given her.

"Mama, do we really have to go?" Tsuna whined.

Nana stopped walking and turned to look at her son in surprise. "Why, of course, Tsu-kun! Mina invited you to play with Haru. I would've thought you boys would be excited to meet another child your age."

"We have each other." Takeshi smiled contentedly.

"Well, yes you do, but it's also nice to have other friends to play with." Nana ruffled the little boy's black hair.

"Hey, Tsunayoshi-sama?" Hayato whispered to his brother.

"Yes, Hayato?"

"If she hugs you again, can I hit her?"

"No, Hayato!" Tsuna quickly exclaimed. "Why would you wanna hit her?"

"Because you obviously don't like it! If she won't listen to you, maybe she'd stop it if I make her."

Takeshi, who had heard the quiet exchange, dropped back a few paces to walk beside his brothers. "Hayato used to stop big kids from bulling us in the orphanage by hitting them." He explained. "But I don't think Haru means to not listen to Tsuna. Maybe she just didn't hear him."

"I shouted it at her five times while we were swimming!" Hayato huffed heavily.

"Okay, boys! I finally found it!" Nana suddenly broke into the boys' discussion.

Tsuna, Takeshi and Hayato looked up to see a beautiful, two story brick house. A spacious, neat lawn surrounded the building, with a large tree and swing standing off to the left. A tall, elegant fence encircled the property and the similar houses that ran in a row down the street.

"Wow!" The boys exclaimed.

"Haru's house looks almost as big as the grocery store!" Tsuna said in amazement.

Nana laughed softly. "You know, Tsu-kun, our house is a little bigger than the grocery store, too?"

"Really?" All three of her sons asked together. This sent the young mother into another short laughing fit.

In a few moments, the small Vongola family were on the front porch, Tsuna hesitatingly ringing the doorbell. It opened almost immediately, revealing Haru in a blue sundress, her long brown hair tied up in a high ponytail. She smiled and bowed politely to her guests.

"Good afternoon, Vongola-san! Takeshi! Hayato! Tsuna-san! Please, come in!"

"What wonderful manners!" Nana exclaimed, smiling at the little girl and returning the bow.

"Thank you, Vongola-san!"

"Nana? Oh you're here!" Somewhere down the hall, Mina stuck her head out of a side room. She smiled as she saw the family and quickly came up to her friend to give her a hug. "I didn't even hear the doorbell! I was just in the office finishing up some paperwork. Would you like to come into the living room and have some tea? Haru can show the boys downstairs; we have a lot of toys down there." She bent down to greet the little boys. "Do you like toys?"

"Yes!" Tsuna and Takeshi nodded their heads earnestly.

"And what about Hayato?"

The Italian shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah... they're okay..." He answered softly, not meeting the woman's gaze.

Mina looked concerned for a moment, but Nana tapped her shoulder lightly. "He's a bit... hesitant, around strangers." She whispered. "It's hard for him to warm up."

"Oh!" The woman turned back to the little boy with an understanding smile. "You know, Hayato, your mother told me how interested you seemed to be in dragons this morning. I have a big book about dragons and fairies and magicians and all kinds of other wonderful creatures, right in the living room. Would you like to see it? Maybe you might even like to take it home."

"What! Really?" Hayato shouted in surprise.

"Oh Mina! Hayato couldn't-"

"Now, Nana! Who else around here is going to look at it? My husband and I no longer have the energy to search for fairy circles or lay out traps for trolls. And Haru isn't interested in it."

"That is simply kid stuff." The little girl sniffed. "It doesn't really exist."

Hayato glared at the unbeliever. "Alright, Haru." Her mother warned her. "Why don't you take Tsuna and Takeshi downstairs, now?"

"Yes, Mama."

Nana and Mina walked off arm in arm down the hall, chatting excitedly without pause. Hayato lingered for a moment longer in the hallway, his grey head wiping back and forth between their retreating figures and the promise of the fairy book, and his brothers. Tsuna gave the boy a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Hayato! You can go with Mama."

"We'll save some toys for you!" Takeshi promised.

"Maybe..." Haru mumbled under her breath.

"R-really?" He asked. Both of the boys nodded. "Well, I guess I'll just go and look at it. But I'll come with you in a few minutes! I just need to..." Hayato trailed off as he turned to run after his mother and host.

"Now that he's gone," Haru said rudely. She grabbed both boys' arms. "Come on, Tsuna-san! I'll give you a tour and then you can see my toys!"

"W-wait! Haru!"

Ignoring their squeaks of protest, the little girl pulled Tsuna and Takeshi quickly through her house.

• • •

"And now we're back in the hall! Do you want me to show you the bathroom, too?"

Tsuna sighed boredly. _I don't want to see the bathroom. I don't want to go on a tour. I want to play! Miura-san said we could play, not walk around the house and look at old stuff._ The brunette scowled as Haru introduced another hundred year old, expansive, cracked vase to the boys.

Even in his bad mood, though, Tsuna couldn't help but be slightly awestruck by the sheer size of the house. There seemed to be an endless supply of rooms; bedrooms, bathrooms, a large kitchen, two dinning rooms and so many living and library rooms, that the little boy couldn't remember them all. But he still hadn't seen any toys (there was one ball he had found, but Haru had explained it was for her mother's exercise and that they couldn't play with it).

_If we were at home, we could be having a snack and playing with a real ball..._ Tsuna huffed to himself.

"And now we're at the stairs for the basement!" Haru said excitedly. "Are you ready, Tsuna-san and Takeshi?"

"Very ready, Haru-chan!" The later answered with a patient smile.

"Good! Now, Mommy says to always be extra careful on the stairs, 'specially guests."

Tsuna cocked his head to the side. "Why guests?"

"'Cause if you got hurt, you can sue us." Tsuna and Takeshi weren't sure how to answer this, so they merely made an effort to be cautious on the long stairwell.

At the bottom, Haru was waiting impatiently. "Did you get hurt? No? Good; now I can open the door to the basement!"

"This isn't the basement?" Takeshi asked, motioning to the small, square room they stood in.

"Of course not, silly! This just leads to the basement! See this handle on the wall? It's really a door that opens so we can get to the basement!" Haru grabbed the little handle and turned it. The once invisible door squeaked loudly as she pushed it open.

"Wow!" Takeshi and Tsuna shouted in excitement.

The basement was a large, square room, with violet walls and a mint green carpet. A large white closet system covered the right wall, boxes of play pots and pans, stuffed animals, puzzles, dress up clothes and a million and one other things occupying every shelf. Against the back wall, a large, thin TV with a DVD player was set up, a shelf with several video cases hanging on the wall above it. In the left corner from the door, a wide, white leather love seat was placed next to a full bookcase. In the center of the room stood a red and blue indoor jungle gym.

"You like it? You really like my playroom?" Haru asked, jumping up and down anxiously.

"It's like a play castle!" Tsuna exclaimed. "Can we play on that?"

"The jungle gym? Of course!"

"Alright! I'll race you two there!" Takeshi shouted, as all three children took off for the playset.

The next hour was like heaven for the children. They wrestled and laughed and danced and dressed up and climbed and fell and then laughed again. Tsuna actually forgot that he had ever been wary of coming to Haru's house. Haru didn't cling to him or annoy him with some silly "manners", as she expressed it. She played freely like a normal little girl.

It might have been the best afternoon of Tsuna's short life. But it took quite a different turn when Hayato finally joined them in the playroom.

• • •

Despite Hayato's promise, it was almost two hours later when the little boys and girl heard his footsteps coming down the stairs. Takeshi's face immediately broke into a wide grin. "Hayato is coming to play, too! I thought he had forgotten we were here!"

Tsuna mirrored his brother's smile, but Haru said nothing. She looked warily toward the staircase, seemingly wondering if the Italian child would join the fun or ruin it.

But Hayato looked serene enough. He jumped the last step, landing with a mischievous grin on his young face. When he saw his two brothers, he immediately raced over to them and in a flood of enthusiasm, began to explain everything he had seen in the Miura family's book.

"Takeshi! Tsuna-sama! Guess what? I learned so much 'bout stuff today! That book has everything! And pictures, too! I saw a fairy with green hair and yellow hair and pink hair," He began to count off on his fingers. "And then a fairy with blue hair and even silver hair, like mine! But those two are night fairies, and their hair even glows in the dark!"

"Cool!" Tsuna exclaimed.

"Do you think your hair glows in the dark, too, Hayato?" Takeshi wondered.

"Of course not! If my hair glowed, Mama wouldn't put on a nightlight for us!"

Haru stood in silence for several minutes, waiting impatiently for the boys to return to their game. But Hayato just went on and on about fairies and just when she finally thought he was out of material, he introduced the subject of dragons!

She tried not to; she truly did. She tried to unclench her little fists, she tried to unwrinkle her brow, she tried to count to ten (though she could only get to seven). But nothing worked. She couldn't calm the anger, jealously and sadness welling up inside her. Instead, she shouted loudly, "That stuff is all fake! My cousin told me so and he's thirteen! He said only babies believe in that stupid junk. Stupid babies!"

Hayato stopped short. Slowly, painfully slow, he turned on the girl, his green eyes glaring fiercely. "That's not true! Mama just told me that it took a boy of inter... inter-elligent something to get it!"

"Well, she was probably lying, so you wouldn't feel bad."

"Mama doesn't lie." Takeshi interrupted, his dark eyes narrowing.

"Yes she does, she's a big liar! Cause she told you that fairy stuff is real and that Hayato's inter-elligent and-"

Haru didn't finish, because at that moment Hayato used his little fist to punch her hit hard on her arm. Then he pushed her down and sat on her and tugged cruelly on her long brown hair. Haru screamed in pain, as she tried to get the bigger boy off of her stomach.

"Hayato!" Tsuna and Takeshi shouted together. They grabbed their brother by his shirt, but Hayato struggled to stay on his prisoner. They finally got Haru free, but Hayato pulled one last, painful string of brown hair.

Tears streamed down Haru's face. Tsuna turned to ask her if she was okay, but she just bolted up the stairs, not bothering to close the doors behind her. Instead, the brunette turned on his brother.

"Hayato! How could you hit Haru?"

"She called Mama a liar!" The Italian growled, angrily. "Mama's not a liar! She's nice and sweet and loves us!"

"But you can't hit Haru!" Tsuna pressed on.

"I hate her!" Hayato shouted, surprising his brother. "She's just a stupid, mean, girl! I hate this house! I want to go home and play alone with you."

"I think Hayato's right." Takeshi agreed. "Haru is sort of... not nice."

"B-but..." Tsuna faultered.

"She's probably crying to her mommy right now!" Hayato rubbed his chin, sniffling softly. Haru had put up quite a fight herself. "Then we'll get in trouble and have to go home."

"Why... how...?" Tsuna shook his head. "I'm gonna find Haru-chan." He ran upstairs, not bothering to stop when his brothers called him.

• • •

Haru sat in her bedroom, hugging her favorite doll to her chest and rocking back and forth. She cried softly, so that her mother or father wouldn't hear and come looking to see what was wrong.

_Stupid Hayato... stupid boys!_ She shouted to herself. _Maybe if they had been good girls we could be friends._ Or maybe if you hadn't opened up your big mouth. Another thought whispered.

"Haru-chan?" The little girl sat up suddenly, this time hearing a real voice addressing her. She looked around the room, but saw no one. Then she heard a soft knock on her door.

She cautiously slipped off her bed and carefully picked her way through the sea of toys that flooded her floor. When she finally reached the door, she opened it a crack, just enough to peer out. "Tsuna-san?" She asked, surprised to see her little hero.

"Hi, Haru-chan. Can I talks with you?"

"I guess." She opened the door all the way for her guest and let him come in.

It was a large bedroom, with white walls and purple and cream colored furnishings. Posters and pretty pictures of girlish treats, such as tea parties and horses and dancers were neatly distributed on each wall. The floor (what little Tsuna could see of it through the toys) was wooden, but with a large, very soft purple carpet covering it.

"What do you want?" Haru demanded, trying not to cry anymore.

"Um, I wanted to say Hayato was sorry for hitting you."

"Really?"

"... No. I'm sorry he hit you, though." Tsuna said, as he honestly was. "Are you okay?

"Yes, my head just hurts and so does my stomach." But she smiled at him. "I feel better now, though, Tsuna-san. I guess it's not your fault." She added after a moment.

"I'm glad." He grinned for a second as well, but then it disappeared behind a disappointed frown. "Why did you say all that stuff about the fairies and Mama? You know Hayato would get upset. Even Takeshi is mad at you."

"Takeshi?" Even the sweet little black haired boy? Haru's stomach began to hurt again and a few tears welled up in her eyes. But she brushed them back and gave Tsuna a stubborn glare. "I didn't say anything that wasn't true!"

"Mama is not a liar!" Tsuna shouted, getting slightly worked up himself. "And how do you know if fairies don't really live?"

"Because my cousin told me, so there!" She crossed her arms and turned away from him.

"He doesn't really know, neither!"

"He does too! He's thirteen and he says everyone who's thirteen knows everything!"

Tsuna didn't know if he could argue with this logic, so dropped the conversation. Instead, he said, "I'm sure we're going home soon, since your mama and my mama wouldn't want to be friends since Hayato hit you."

Haru paused for a long moment. "I didn't tell Mommy."

"Really? How come?" Tsuna's anger fell away, surprise taking its place. "I always tell Mama when I get hurt. And she kisses it and makes it better and then gives me a snack!"

"Because... if I told Mommy, then she wouldn't want your mommy coming over anymore and then we... couldn't be... friends." Haru sniffed loudly.

"You... want to be friends?"

"Yes, I don't have any, really. I don't have no one to play with. Only my toys."

"You have lots of toys!" Tsuna pointed out, still slightly awestruck by her crowded basement and bedroom.

"But they don't talk to you when you're lonely or kiss you when you get hurt or explain something to you when the adults are talking and you don't get what they're saying."

One word fixed in Tsuna's mind, as Haru stopped to cry loudly into her doll. Lonely.

He had heard that word before, he was sure. Before Hayato and Takeshi, his Mama and Papa would say "Tsuna is lonely", a lot. But ever since his brothers came to live with him, he never heard that word, anymore. He wasn't even sure if he could remember what it felt like to be lonely, but he was pretty sure it was when your mommy and daddy had to work and you had to play all by yourself for a long, long time.

"Why doesn't your mama or dad play with you?" He asked, hesitatingly reaching to put a gentle hand on Haru's shoulder.

She looked up in surprise at the friendly gesture. "They work. They leave me home with our maids. But they can't play with me, either, cause they got to cook food and then clean the house."

"Oh..." Tsuna thought for a moment. "I used to be lonely, too, until I got Hayato and Takeshi. Maybe you need some brothers who will keep you unlonely!"

"But, I don't have any brothers. And I don't think I want any." She wrinkled her nose at the thought of having angry Hayato or even Takeshi as a relative.

"Well... I'll be your brother."

"What?" Haru exclaimed, thinking she had not correctly heard.

"I'll be your brother." Tsuna repeated patiently. "Me, and Takeshi, and Hayato!"

"But... they hate me." Haru sniffed again.

"No they don't! Or, if they do, I'll tell them to forgive you! They sort of listen to me a lot." He shrugged his shoulders. "Is that okay?"

"Y-yes!" She squeaked out quickly.

"Okay! Then, as your brother, I'll clean your tears like Mama does for me and give you a hug and kiss." And Tsuna hopped up from the bed and pulled a white handkerchief from his back pocket. He then gently whipped away the little girl's tear, had her clean her face and wash her hands in the bathroom and then finally sat her down on her bed. Then Tsuna leaned forward, kissed her forehead and gave her a big hug. "There! Now I'm your brother! Let's go downstairs and tell Hayato and Takeshi so they can give you hugs and kisses, too!"

"Tsuna!" Both little children paused as Nana's familiar voice floated faintly from up the hall.

Haru and Tsuna left the bedroom and ran to the front door, where the Vongola boy's mother, brothers and host were waiting for them. "It's time to go." Nana explained with her usual smile.

"I had a wonderful time seeing you, Nana-chan!" Mina said, giving her friend a hug. "You must come back and see us again, soon!"

"I certainly have learned my lesson and won't let you out of my sight!" The young mother laughed. "Ten years is far too long to go without seeing my best friend!"

"Only ten, Nana?"

"Oh, however old we were. No point in remembering details." Nana waved away the little concern with another smile.

"Bye, Haru-chan." Tsuna smiled at his new "sister".

"Hehe, bye, Tsuna-san." The little girl giggled.

The boys and their mother left the house, waving and smiling pleasantly. But as soon as they turned the corner and Nana had trudged on ahead of her sons, Hayato turned and immediately asked, "What happened, Tsunayoshi-sama?"

"Is she still mad?" Takeshi wondered.

"Nope! In fact, I adopted her!"

Both boys stared at their bother in growing horror. "You what?"

"I adopted her, just like Mama adopted you! Now she's our sister. And next time we see her, you two have to apologize for being mean and saying you hate her."

"B-but!"

"Please, Hayato?" Tsuna asked, his eyes wide and pleading.

"I... fine, for you, Tsunayoshi-sama."

"I guess you're right, Tsuna!" Takeshi grinned at his brother. "I actually am sorry for being mad, before!"

"Great! Then you have to kiss her and hug her and then she'll be your sister!" Tsuna skipped on ahead.

Takeshi and Hayato froze in their places. "Wait... **WHAT**?!"

• • •

**Ending Note: So ends the Haru Arc! I think you guys will like the next two chapters; I'll be spending some time sharing the story of how Takeshi and Hayato came to be in the orphanage. Poor little kids... And then comes the hilarious... ****_MUKURO ROKUDO ARC! YAHOO!_**

**(: Thank you for reading! Please review! :) **


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